Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-07-27

courts, ana Inc n1gleSC court IN the
state has made the decisions we have
pointed out above. 1t behooves far.
mers to keep q sharp lookout over
their workmen.
A strengthening Machine.
An Australian paper says: For
some weeks back various statements,
couched in more or less vague terms,
have been going therounds of the agri-
cultural papers respecting new sheep
shearing machine, which was said to
be capable of shearing 10000 sheep
Per day. Flock-masters in general
received these statements with q very
considerable grain of salt, for although
the present is an age Of inventive won
ders, yet practical men were inclined
to think that such statements almost
defied belief. 1t appears, however,
that the capabilities Of the new inven-
ton have by no means been over
stated. The machine consists of g.
length of shafting facing the shearing
floor, driven by small engine. On
this shafting and five feet apart are
cast-iron wheels two feet in diameter,
each wheel having one side Of its f1ange
slightly beveled. Six feet six
inches above the shearing floor and
attached to each post by back
screws, and five feet apart, is q cast
iron bracket with an extension of
threefeet of light angle iron. On each
bracket is q small leather wheel, four
inches ia diameter, with a bevel OF
one and one-half inches, CORE spond-
ing to the bevel of the iron wheel
above. This wheel which rotates on
q spindle, is formed by COMPRISING
severalla layers Of leather between brass
plates. On the end OF the spindle is a
steel hook, and outside the bearing
is screwed a brass coupling,
which is attached to flexible tube,
six feet, six inches long. Inside this
tube is piece Of round gut, half an
inch in diameter, with hook at one
end and an eye at the other; the eye
is placed in the hook at the end of the
spindle carrying the small leather
friction wheel, and the hook
is placed in the eye st the end
of the universal joint, forming part of
the shearing machine. The connection
is made complete by thin
brass coupling slipping over
g. light brass ferrule on the end OF the
flexible tube and screwed to the end of
the universal Joint. By pulling a
small cord hanging from the bracket a
spring liberates the catch and instantly
the bevel leather wheel is pushed into
position and contact with the bevel
of the iron wheel revolving on the
shaft, and thus it communicates a
rotary motion to the core inside the
flexible tube, and so to the small rods
working the crank inside the casing of
the machine. This crank moves from
side to side OF the cylinder, and thus
causes the fork with cutter attached
at the end to reciprocate over the
comb, and as the comb is pushed into
the wool, so does the small cutter cut.
An eight horsepower engine will drive
one hundred shears, one man attend
ing each, and their construction is not
so complex but that a snearer Of Or
binary intelligence can learn to work
them in few hours. The time re.
quired for the shearing OF one sheep is
from three and g. half to five minutes.
WINDOWS IN STABLES.
In answer to q subscriber who asks
if g window in front of each animal in
a stable is Injurious, the Rural New
Yorker says: The subject of win
dows in stables is one of considerable
Importance as regards horses, but not
as to COWS; for thereason that abnor-
NAL exposure to light causes distress
to the eyes, or one of them, and this
induces disease and blindness. It is,
however, only strong light that has
this effect. A north light which is
diffused and has no bright sunraSs
has very little or no injurious effect in
any way, and horses may quite safely
stand in the full light with windows
directly in front of them. A good
deal OF trouble is caused by dark
stables, in which the horses stand in
sort Of twilight or at times almost
complete darkness, from which they
are brought out into bright sunshine.
This is painful and Injurious to
the eyes, and no doubt it's constant
repetition day after day will end in
ophthalmia and the very common
periodical disease of so-called moon
blindness. II the windows must be
necessarily exposed to the sunlight, it
is desirable perhaps to shade light in
some way, that horse may not
stand in the full glare of it. This may
be done by covering the glass with
white paint dabbed on with the stiff
ends Of the hairs OF brush so as to
give the effect of ground glass; or COW
er them with thick lime wash in the
same way. AS a rule, stables OF both
COWS and horses should be light and
airy. Light encourages cleanliness,
for it exposes dirt and filth, and
makes a man ashamed of it. The
only precaution needed is to prevent
the SUMS rays from shining directly
into the faces OF the horses, and which